Learning all about backyard chickens

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ChickNanny13 said:
:welcome Glad you joined us :ya

Chicks or Pullets/Hens ... How old is your daughter?
Chicks are CUTE but alot of work & it takes 'forever' for them to start laying. You may want to consider "Starters". Before you get anything, build your Coop/Run. The pre fab stuff are CUTE but they really don't hold up. Check out the forums for info. Then you'll need to decide which breed, there are so many beautiful breeds.
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My daughter is 10 and I've been told by a friend who has about 100 in her flock that it takes about 6 months before they start laying eggs. Since we can only have 3, I'd like together a nice size egg. Still researching all aspects. I don't want to jump in and end up doing the wrong things, so reading everything I can right now.
 
New2Chicks97 said:
Hi! I am new as well both to the site and to have chickens.

We originally got our chicks because my daughter has wanted chickens for ages but we couldn’t have them for various reasons (small yard, moving and etc). So we promised her when we had the right place we would get chickens.

I think if you want your daughter to get the most enjoyment out of them and bond with them, baby chicks would be the way to go. My daughter loved holding them when they were little and would spend hours where we kept the brooder holding, feeding and petting them. Many of our friendliest girls are the ones she held regularly.

What breeds were thinking about getting?

I let my daughter choose most of the original 10 we bought as chicks. She choose 3 Buff Orpingtons & 5 Easter Eggers and I chose 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes. My in laws bought her two Sexlink chicks. And we have since adopted a Favaucana.
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Since we can only have 3 hens, I'm considering 3 different breeds. It was suggested that I get one that lays brown eggs one that lays the green/blue, and one that lays white. So I can know which chicken is laying each egg, to know which ones I like the best.
 
Welcome. I was about 12 years old when I started my first flock. Going either way would be fine: chicks or laying hens.

Suggestions: If you get chicks, use a MHP to brood them. And, brood them right in the coop.

Since these are going to be "pets with benefits", I advise you to avoid the sex linked or production hybrid birds. They are bred to produce lots of big eggs, but they are very prone to succumbing to reproductive illness after a couple seasons of laying. Instead, get a standard breed. Check out Henderson's chicken breed's chart. Many of the production hybrids have "cutesy little names" that can make it difficult for the newbie to know if they are buying a standard breed or a hybrid. When in doubt, ask here on BYC. Got lots of cold weather? Choose a breed with small comb (pea, rose, walnut). Got lots of hot weather? Choose a breed with large comb.

Coop: AVOID the pre-fab coops. They are all over priced, poorly designed, made of sub-standard materials. They are also falsely advertised regarding how many birds they can safely house.

You will need AT LEAST 4 s.f. of open space in the coop and 10 s.f. in the run per bird. I recommend a walk in style to provide the best air quality and ventilation for your birds. Ventilation: plan on 1 s.f. of ventilation per bird.

Safety: hardware cloth covering all openings greater than 1". Buried skirt around coop and run.

Building a coop/run is easily within the capability of the average homeowner if you have a few power tools. This would be a great project for you and your dtr.
 
lazy gardener said:
Welcome. I was about 12 years old when I started my first flock. Going either way would be fine: chicks or laying hens.

Suggestions: If you get chicks, use a MHP to brood them. And, brood them right in the coop.

Since these are going to be "pets with benefits", I advise you to avoid the sex linked or production hybrid birds. They are bred to produce lots of big eggs, but they are very prone to succumbing to reproductive illness after a couple seasons of laying. Instead, get a standard breed. Check out Henderson's chicken breed's chart. Many of the production hybrids have "cutesy little names" that can make it difficult for the newbie to know if they are buying a standard breed or a hybrid. When in doubt, ask here on BYC. Got lots of cold weather? Choose a breed with small comb (pea, rose, walnut). Got lots of hot weather? Choose a breed with large comb.

Coop: AVOID the pre-fab coops. They are all over priced, poorly designed, made of sub-standard materials. They are also falsely advertised regarding how many birds they can safely house.

You will need AT LEAST 4 s.f. of open space in the coop and 10 s.f. in the run per bird. I recommend a walk in style to provide the best air quality and ventilation for your birds. Ventilation: plan on 1 s.f. of ventilation per bird.

Safety: hardware cloth covering all openings greater than 1". Buried skirt around coop and run.

Building a coop/run is easily within the capability of the average homeowner if you have a few power tools. This would be a great project for you and your dtr.
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I'm in a suburb of Ft Worth, TX. So we have hot summers and fairly mind winters (for the most part). As I read more, I am now leaning away from the pre-fab coops - they all seem really small and I'd like to be able to walk in to clean (easier on my back). I want happy chickens :)
 
Good planning. I'm a 62 y.o. biddy. If I can build coops and tractors, and green houses, any one can!!! In your climate, you could build a shed style with good overhangs, and leave the front open (covered with hdw cloth.)

Check out the little book produced by "Sunset": Sheds and Garages
 
lazy gardener said:
Welcome. I was about 12 years old when I started my first flock. Going either way would be fine: chicks or laying hens.

Suggestions: If you get chicks, use a MHP to brood them. And, brood them right in the coop.

Since these are going to be "pets with benefits", I advise you to avoid the sex linked or production hybrid birds. They are bred to produce lots of big eggs, but they are very prone to succumbing to reproductive illness after a couple seasons of laying. Instead, get a standard breed. Check out Henderson's chicken breed's chart. Many of the production hybrids have "cutesy little names" that can make it difficult for the newbie to know if they are buying a standard breed or a hybrid. When in doubt, ask here on BYC. Got lots of cold weather? Choose a breed with small comb (pea, rose, walnut). Got lots of hot weather? Choose a breed with large comb.

Coop: AVOID the pre-fab coops. They are all over priced, poorly designed, made of sub-standard materials. They are also falsely advertised regarding how many birds they can safely house.

You will need AT LEAST 4 s.f. of open space in the coop and 10 s.f. in the run per bird. I recommend a walk in style to provide the best air quality and ventilation for your birds. Ventilation: plan on 1 s.f. of ventilation per bird.

Safety: hardware cloth covering all openings greater than 1". Buried skirt around coop and run.

Building a coop/run is easily within the capability of the average homeowner if you have a few power tools. This would be a great project for you and your dtr.
Click to expand...


If we decide to get chicks, what is the best age chicks to get? While looking yesterday at Atwoods, they had 2 different size chicks. I have no idea the age, but I won't buy chicks there because they were straight run and I will want to be sure I have girls.
 
McChickie said:
Since we can only have 3 hens, I'm considering 3 different breeds. It was suggested that I get one that lays brown eggs one that lays the green/blue, and one that lays white. So I can know which chicken is laying each egg, to know which ones I like the best.
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That is a good idea. We have to guess as not all of ours are laying yet. We don’t have any that lay white eggs just brown or colored. Though with colored eggs you can usually tell them apart unless you have two that lay the exact same color since the chickens will always lay the same color eggs.

We have 1 that lays sage green eggs and some that lay blue-green and blue. So far I can tell them all apart and know which girl is laying which colored egg. The brown ones not so much because I can’t catch them in the act to know who is laying yet!
 
I would also think twice about getting young chicks if you can only have 3 hens. I applaud you for thinking about that before you leap. Unless, they are sex-linked breed, of course. If you get chicks, you may end up with a cockerel if it's not easy to tell them apart. If you happen to have someone you can rehome chickens with, you could get like 6 babies, and keep the ones you want once they mature a bit. There are plenty of options.
 
Welcome to Backyard Chickens!:frow Glad you joined the flock! BYC is a very helpful and informative about poultry! If you can only have a limited amount of chickens, then I would vote laying hens or pullets close to laying. Hope you enjoy it here as much as we all do!
 
I would definitely avoid straight run. Chances are very good that you would end up with 75% males when choosing from a SR bin. However, I would also avoid sex linked birds if choosing for a "Pets with benefits" flock, b/c of the higher likelihood of them succumbing to reproductive illness. Sex link and Production Hybrid chickens have a much higher rate of reproductive illness/early death. Your dtr is old enough to understand that if any accidental roosters are bought that they will need to be rehomed. No need to go into great detail with her regarding whether rehoming involves a stew pot.
 

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